Energy Diplomacy As a Form of Soft Power: the Rise and Fall of Brazil’S Ethanol Diplomacy in Africa
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Energy Diplomacy as a Form of Soft Power: The Rise and Fall of Brazil’s Ethanol Diplomacy in Africa Name: Mariët Druif Student number: S1214152 Supervisor: M. Wiesebron Master: International Studies Word count: 9.765 Date: 13 November 2017 1 Table of Contents: - Introduction - Chapter 1: Energy diplomacy as a form of soft power o Energy security and energy diplomacy o Hard power versus soft Power in energy diplomacy - Chapter 2: The Development of Ethanol Diplomacy in Brazil o The emergence of biofuels in Brazil: interaction between the oil scarcity and biofuels development o Actors in the field of ethanol diplomacy - Chapter 3: Case study: Ethanol diplomacy in Africa as a foreign policy strategy to gain global influence o Why promote ethanol in Africa? o How Lula promoted the production and use of ethanol in Africa o How successful was Brazil’s ethanol diplomacy in Africa in gaining global influence? - Conclusion - Bibliography 2 Introduction Since the late 1990s, Brazil has become an important actor on the international stage. By establishing bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the Brazilian government focuses on strengthening shared values and normative commitments. Brazil attempts to gain access to the international decision- making tables through peaceful means solely, instead of using aggression and force (Stolte 2015: 77). In this way Brazil tries to achieve its main goal: become a major global power. When Lula Da Silva (2003-2010) came to power in 2003, ethanol diplomacy in Africa became part of this strategy. Over the last 40 years Brazil successfully developed an ethanol program. As a result, Brazilian sugarcane ethanol currently provides a sustainable alternative for gasoline in transport. It is considered the ‘‘most successful alternative fuel to date’’ as its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction is significantly higher compared to ethanol from other sources (Sperling & Gordon 2009: 95). For example, Walter et al. found that the sugarcane ethanol GHG emissions savings are around 75%, while the maximum emissions savings from corn, which is the primary source of the world's fuel ethanol and the primarily used in the United States, is around 35% (Walter et al. 2008: 47). Lula tried to replicate this successful model in African countries in order to make it a globally traded commodity and increase Brazil’s influence on the continent, which in turn could contribute to its aspirations of becoming a global player. The question then arises as to: How is Brazil’s ethanol diplomacy incorporated in its foreign policy strategy in Africa in the 21st century and how successful has this strategy been to gain global influence? To answer this question this essay firstly analyzes the concept energy diplomacy and it discusses the soft power theory to explain how and why energy diplomacy is used. Secondly, it addresses Brazil’s biofuels developments over time and the main actors within the field of ethanol diplomacy. Thirdly, it discusses how Brazil employed this strategy in Africa and the effectiveness of this strategy to achieve its foreign policy goals. It examines to what extent biofuels have been implemented successfully in Africa and to what extent it contributed to Brazil’s presence in Africa and making ethanol a globally traded commodity. In addition, it examines the impact of the international concerns regarding biofuels’ benefits on Brazil’s strategy and whether these concerns have been justified. It does so by analyzing the presumed and actual impact of biofuels on local and household level in African countries. Finally, it ends with the conclusion answering the research question. The purpose of this analysis is to show how Brazil employed its ethanol diplomacy in Africa as a foreign policy instrument in order to achieve its goal to become a global player and to what extent 3 this strategy has been effective. This analysis focuses on the 21th century as ethanol diplomacy was introduced under Lula’s presidency (2003-2010), and continued under President Rousseff (2011- 2016). Although the policy diminished under Rousseff and is not continued under Temer (2016- present), including these presidencies illustrates why ethanol diplomacy in Africa has stagnated. This subject is scientifically relevant due to the need to combat climate change, the global significance of ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels and the increasing concerns about its impact on African countries. In addition, there is a small amount of English literature about the Brazilian government’s ethanol diplomacy in Africa and the actual impact on food security. Analyzing Portuguese speeches and policy documents contributes to the existing literature. 4 Chapter 1|Energy diplomacy as a form of soft power Energy security and energy diplomacy In order to understand how the Brazilian government is conducting ethanol diplomacy and what its motivations are to use this strategy, it is important to define what ethanol diplomacy exactly is. Ethanol diplomacy fits into the broader concept of energy diplomacy. Therefore, this chapter will explain the concept energy diplomacy and its importance to energy supplier states and energy consumer states and it defines what ethanol diplomacy is. In addition, it explains the soft/hard power theory of Joseph Nye because this theory provides an explanation of how and why energy diplomacy is used. Although there is no consensus about the exact definition of energy diplomacy, several scholars have used Goldthau’s definition (de Jesus 2013: 500; Chan et al. 2012: 146; Chaban & Knodt 2015: 458; Dalgaard 2012: 65). Goldthau (2010: 28) defines the concept as: ‘’the use of foreign policy to secure access to energy supplies abroad and to promote (mostly bilateral, that is, government to government) cooperation in the energy sector.’’ According to Goldthau, energy importers use diplomacy to secure their energy supply whereas energy exporters use it to strengthen their ‘access to markets or reserves’ (Ibid, 25). Thus, in order to achieve energy security, governments cooperate and this is called energy diplomacy. Another way to secure access to energy supplies is with the use of threats, economic sanctions or force, making use of hard power (Kruse 2014: 35). However, because the Brazilian government cooperates with other countries to achieve energy security; this analysis focuses on energy diplomacy. Goldthau’s definition of energy diplomacy, however, has received criticism because it links energy to the security and competiveness norm only (Chaban & Knodt 2015: 46). Chaban & Knodt state that as the energy market is changing rapidly, it is important to consider sustainability norms as well (ibid). The emergence of biofuels in energy diplomacy supports the argument to include these sustainability norms. Since 2000, biofuels have gained importance in energy diplomacy and consequently several scholars used the term ethanol diplomacy to describe the transferring of agricultural and industrial technologies for the production of ethanol to developing countries, the exchange of know-how and private-sector investment, enabling these countries to enter into a competitive market (Almeida 2009:11 & Fulquet & Pelfini 2015: 124). Countries using ethanol diplomacy seek to create an international market for ethanol and want to make ethanol a globally traded commodity, which in 5 turn could boost its sustainable production (de Jesus 2013: 501). In order to achieve this goal, a large number of countries need to both produce and consume ethanol. Moreover, ethanol diplomacy is employed to strengthen strategic international partnerships and stimulate economic and social transformation in developing countries that have the potential to produce sustainable ethanol (de Jesus 2013: 502). In these countries, it could reduce foreign dependence on energy and generate income for their populations, which could also contribute to food security (Ibid). Thus, energy diplomacy is not only used to gain access to energy supplies, it is used to develop sustainable production and use of energy as well. In achieving these goals, it focuses on cooperation instead of using threats of force. Ethanol diplomacy is a specific part of energy diplomacy and tries to achieve these goals by transferring technology and know-how for (sustainable) ethanol to developing countries. In this way ethanol can be turned into a globally traded commodity and thereby energy security will be achieved. Hard Power versus Soft Power in Energy Diplomacy As mentioned above, energy security can be achieved through cooperation, called energy diplomacy, or through the use of threats or force. In both ways a country uses its power to influence other countries to act in a particular way. Therefore, this paragraph discusses the concept of power and Joseph Nye’s power theory, which gives an explanation of how and why energy diplomacy is used. Power has emerged as a central concept in international relations and can be defined as ‘having the ability to influence another to act in ways in which that entity would not have acted otherwise’ (Wilson 2008: 114). For a long time, the power concept was mainly seen from a realist perspective (Winter 2005: 40). In realism, the ultimate outcomes or goals are protecting the state’s national interest and survival by ensuring power and security. Furthermore, realism assumes that states are the dominant actors with no higher international authority above them. They act in circumstances of anarchy and in order to survive and preserve independence they rely on their own devices, with military force as their ultimate instrument (Nye 2013: 6). According to Nye, however, due to the information revolution and increasing globalization and interdependence, this realist perspective of power is changing and countries cannot achieve all their goals acting on their own anymore (Ibid, 5). Therefore one should not only ‘think in terms of power over others’ (Ibidem). ‘One must also think in terms of power to accomplish goals which involves power with others’ (Ibidem). In today’s world, connectedness and networks have become a valuable source of power. For this reason, on many transnational issues empowering others could help countries achieving their goals (Ibidem).